Tuesday, August 16, 2011

I'm home! Mega vacation/haul post!

Hello everyone! I've made it home safe and sound from my vacation. I was feeling a bit jet lagged earlier so I'm writing this post much later than I'd hoped.

First I want to say thank you for all your lovely comments and emails while I was gone. I'll be replying to any comments that require answers between today and tomorrow, and I'll be responding to all emails soon too.
I'm so happy you guys enjoyed my As Seen On posts! I had so much fun doing them and I'm glad you had fun reading them.

Now, today's post is going to be a BIG one. Probably the biggest from me ever.
I was trying to decide if I should split this up but I decided no, I'll just overwhelm you with pictures and hauls!

This post includes some pictures of my vacation, pictures of my mega vacation haul, and pictures of my mega nail mail haul that I came home to.

There is no real way to introduce this post so here we go!

First I'm going to show you a few vacation highlight photos!

Here are the nails I started out my vacation with.
2 coats of OPI Ds Original over 2 coats of China Glaze Gamer Glam, and one coat of Milani HD over one coat of China Glaze OMG. Super happy blingy holo mani for the sun in Toronto!

Holo nails up in the air!!

The first day in Toronto we went to MTV Live and it was so much fun. After the taping we ended up running into one of the hosts on the street and got a picture with him! I'm not going to post that photo because I don't know if my cousin wants her face seen all over the blogworld but it was hilarious and awesome.

The next night we ended up at a Blue Jays game which was fun too. There were people around us yelling at the left outfielder the whole time, saying hilarious things and insulting him to try and mess with him so he would be off his game. It made the whole thing so enjoyable! Haha.

On the way to Buffalo we went to Niagara Falls and went on the Maid of the Mist boat tour where you get this close to the falls and you wear these hilarious blue ponchos. It was cool.

And then we went to the concert. Manchester Orchestra played first and were really bad and I didn't even take a picture. And then My Chemical Romance played! MCR have been one of my favorite bands for a long time but their set disappointed me. Most of the songs they played were from my least favorite album and they did not play any of my favorite songs. So it was a bummer but still awesome to see.

And then there was blink-182. This was my second time seeing them and it was just as amazing as the first. I'm a total fangirl and I wept a little during my favorite songs.

I've been a blink fan for almost 10 years now!

The confetti just reached us! Haha.
Pure euphoria.

On the way back to Toronto we went to the African Lion Safari which was so cool. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it but I really did! You get to drive through the reserve in your own car, and you see lions, zebras, monkeys, rhinos, kangaroos, reindeer, buffalo, elephants, and more. It was really interesting! As you can see, we got super close to the zebras. That photo is not zoomed in. They were right next to the car!

Back in Toronto we went to the Britney Spears Femme Fatale tour and it just sucked. Britney has lost her mojo for sure. She spends most of the time sitting on props and when she does dance it is painful to watch.
Also, there were supposed to be 5 acts but 3 of them dropped, and they brought DJ Pauly D from Jersey Shore instead which was just awful. Awful!
Nicki Minaj was really awesome, though. She had 6 dancers and no props and she was 100 times more interesting than Britney with her huge stage and show and dancers, etc. Total waste of money for me, but I went for my cousin. And she went to blink for me. It was a compromise.

We had dinner in the 360 rotating restaurant in the CN Tower. It rotates fully in 72 minutes and you get to see the whole city. It was really cool! A few of the windows had a cute fish on them, and I thought this picture was cute so I included it.

Somewhere halfway through I chopped down my nails and redid them. I broke one really badly and knew I had to cut the others before I had a serious/painful disaster.
I used new polishes from vaca - Zoya Caitlin and Dannii.
I smeared some of Dannii onto my pinky while I was putting on Seche Vite but it sorta looks cool!

Okay! That is my mini vacation recap.
Now for the haul. Again some friends are asking to see everything I got so this is not just polish.
But I'll show all the polish first! I came home with over 30 bottles.
But how did I get it all home?

A Nike box.

With a towel.

And Sephora bags.

All wrapped in bubbles or bags or paper.

It worked and they all made it home safely!

Crush - Metal, Hustle, Live On

These are from a clothing store called Boathouse. The middle one supposedly glows in the dark! They were 3/$15.

Sephora by OPI - Spark-tacular Topcoat, Ocean Love Potion

I bought these at Sephora in Toronto and paid too much for them. They're $12 in Canada.

Love & Beauty - Green, Light Green

These names are totally dumb - Green is a teal glitter and Light Green is a light green with glitter and orange flakies. $3.80 each in Canada.

H&M - Peppermint Fusion, Pink Paradies, Wawawoom

I was SO happy to find Peppermint Fusion! The pink (which has the typo in the name, haha) looks like the new China Glaze Traffic Jam I think, and it was only $1.95! Wawawoom is a cool shimmery champagne color, and I think they also made a typo there. Vavavoom or Wawawoom?!
The big bottles are $5.95.

I also got this mini set at H&M, I believe it is the fall mini set. It was $7.95.

Coral, Berry, Mustard, Purple, Petrol

What original names! Haha. I used Petrol on my toes and the formula is awesome. I love these!

At Sephora in the states I picked up these 2. I waited to get them in the states so they would be cheaper. The HK was $9 i think and $9.50 for the Nails Inc.

NYC - Starry Silver Glitter, Pure Ice - Strip Tease

We popped in to a Walmart in the states and I knew I had to check out the polish. These were $0.98 each which was just awesome. The Pure Ice selection was pretty bad though, so I only picked up one.

Zoya - Zara, Color Club - Peppermint Twist, Sexy Siren

In the Walden Galleria mall in Buffalo I found a salon/beauty supply, Beauty Plus Salon, that had a huge selection. I came home with only these 3, but it was a hard decision! I would have bought a lot more but I knew I had to worry about getting everything back over the border without paying duties, and I knew I still might find an Ulta store.
But I'm so happy with these ones! The prices were good too. $15 for all of this.

Now. About Ulta. I knew the street it was on, but not the number. And I couldn't use my phone or else I would get roaming charges.
As we were driving I had my family on the lookout for Ulta but I figured we wouldn't find it, because Niagara Falls Blvd is like miles and miles long.
And suddenly... My mom saw it. We waited 20 minutes for it to open. And then I was in heaven!
But I had to limit myself - again, I had to get everything over the border.

Orly - Sweet Peacock, Galaxy Girl, Fowl Play

I immediately asked the sales associate if they had the new Orly collection and she had no idea what I was talking about but sent me to the Orly section.
And they had it! I squealed and picked up the last bottle of Fowl Play, and Sweet Peacock. $7 each.
Then I spotted the Cosmic FX collection but they were $10 each so I only got Galaxy Girl.

Zoya - Dannii, Caitlin, Essence - Can't Cheat On Me

I found the Zoya Intimate collection and squealed because I wanted these two so badly. $7 each.
And the Essence was 99 cents! It's slightly holo.
I also got an Orly for Kayla Shevonne that I didn't put in the pictures.

At Ulta I also got an EOS lipbalm because so many of my facebook friends were raving about them.

I forgot to take my own photo, so here is one from Google. At first I thought it was strange but now I love it. I don't think it moisturizes as well as Blistex, but I still like it!
I got Summer Fruit and it smells just like Fuzzy Peaches candy.
I spent $51 at Ulta on 7 polishes and the EOS.

Misa - Dirty Sexy Money, Zoya - Neeka

Back in Canada I went to Trade Secrets and got these. Delighted to find Zoya Smoke and Mirrors because I wanted this one color, but it was $9.99 which sucked. I was so happy to find the Misa ($7.99) and was thinking how unique the color was... Until I got home and noticed this.

Here is what I picked up for Kayla. The Orly was on her wishlist, I knew she needed Peppermint Fusion because it is so pretty, and I know she likes trying new things so I also got her a Misa! (Hopefully she doesn't have a dupe like I do.)

That is all for my polish haul. I got so much and I'm so happy with everything. (Except the dupe.)
Now for the other stuff!

I got these cute hair elastics at H&M for $4.95. I love them!

Katy Perry perfume! I got this at a perfume outlet in Buffalo and paid a lot less for it than you would here. It was $45.

At Hot Topic in Toronto I picked up these cute Hello Kitty headbands. They were $10 for the set. They're too cute.

Earrings and bracelet from Forever 21! The earrings were $3.80 and $5.80 for the bracelet I think.

HK key cap from Forever 21. $3.80.

I got this bow necklace from Forever 21 for $3.80. Gah! I love it. (As you can probably tell by now, I have a thing for bows.)

A few days before leaving, I was tipped off by a facebook group friend, Alyssa, that Target was selling Hello Kitty duct tape. As we were driving to the blink concert we saw a Target and my mom and aunts went back there to shop while we were at the concert. Mom got me 2 rolls of the tape! Awesome.

At the blink concert I spent $100 on merch because like I said, I'm a fan girl.
I got the above collectable bunny - there were 5 designs all blind-boxed (you don't know which one you're getting) and I probably got the best one. (Best being most blink-oriented.)

Of course I had to get a tour shirt, and I got a wicked girls shirt and some undies! Love it all.
I also got a poster but I was too lazy to unroll it to take a picture.

I got this OUI shirt at Forever 21 in Buffalo for $12. Super cute.

Here's the rest of the clothes I got.
Blue cardigan from H&M, bow scarf and tank top from Garage, leopard cami and striped tank from Forever 21, bow print waffle thermal from Boathouse, striped top from H&M and zipper cardi from Forever 21.
Again, I have a bow problem.

Last but not least I got this bag at a Billabong store. It's an Element bag (why they sell Element at Billabong I'll never know) and it was $60 but I LOVE it so I had to have it. It is my favorite color! It's basically the exact color of China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise. Splurge for sure, but awesome.

Oh dear god. Can you believe this post is still not over?
Now I'm going to show you my nail mail.
My dad faithfully collected all my packages while I was gone and I opened them all last night when I got
home. It was like Christmas.

Look at all the packages!

The first one I picked up confused me because I recognized the name but I wasn't expecting anything from her. So of course I tore into that one first... And I was totally overwhelmed and grateful!

A lovely girl named Amy who I met on Facebook sent me all of this. I had no idea!
She knew I wanted Ozotic 505, and she has easy access to them in Australia. So she got it for me!
She made me a beautiful ring too, which she says is either Sinful Colors Hottie or Nail Junkie (she can't remember!) and a silver holo hairclip which is so lovely! And a tiny bird pendant.
I'm wearing the ring right now. I cannot believe how gorgeous it is! Also I can't believe that a Sinful Colors did this.

So beautiful! I'm going to wear it all the time, holy crap.
Thank you SO much, Amy, I can't believe how generous you are! Seriously I am totally wowed. I squealed when I opened the package.
Good thing she included her return address on the package. ;)

Okay, so after that totally awesome random-act-of-kindness, I opened the rest.

China Glaze - Grape Crush (x2), Crystal Ball

My good friend Traci found a bunch of awesome dusties recently, and Kayla and I bought some from her and had them shipped together, of course. Only Grape Crush is for me.

Another Facebook friend, Lori, sent me this package! We had swapped a few months ago for Funky Fingers but my package got lost in the mail. I really wanted to get them, so I paid her to send me more! Haha. I also bought Sally Hansen Night Lights from her which is HTF, and a gram of Spectraflair pigment to make holographic polishes! She also sent me the adorable cupcake gift bag you see above! Thanks Lori!

Zoya - Ivanka

Yet another facebook friend swap! This is from Rachel. She swapped me my most wanted Zoya for a bottle of Rebecca Likes Cupcakes, my franken. She also sent some cute stickers! Thank you Rachel!

Big swap! This one came from Michelle in Scotland. Look at all those pretties!!
Thank you so much, Shel. These are all so cute and I can't wait to try them out! Swatch spam from these coming soon!

BB Couture - Junk In The Trunk, Man Bug

Recently I ordered from Overall Beauty, and I got the package in my nail mail blitz yesterday!
Kim, the owner of Overall Beauty, is awesome. We had a little chat via email after I ordered, and I love her! She is the sweetest.
She included a set of nail art stickers and a mineral sample.

Skulls! With bows! Hehe. So cute. Thank you Kim! I can't wait to get these amazing polishes on my nails.

I got two things that weren't nail-related:

These are Spin Pins. If you're not sure what Spin Pins are, watch this video. They're really awesome, but if you buy the name brand ones it will run you around $7 for 2. I got 10 on eBay for $1!

New iPhone case! I custom made this case on Casemate. It has a layer of rubber for shock absorption and a hard outer shell for more protection. It is seriously awesome. I uploaded my own image and it came out great.

I paid like $35 for this, but I'm going to have this phone for a while and I need to protect it!
(This is not a sponsored link, just something I really love and want to share!)

I also got a few things before I left:

The Orly Pin Up Collection never made it to Sally's here in St. John's. I thought I wouldn't need them, but then one day I saw a mini set in Winners, and I knew I needed the glitters and I wanted those babies full size.
So I complained on Facebook and almost immediately, 2 lovely ladies appeared with just what I needed.Wendy sent me Here Comes Trouble and Tara sent me Bubbly Bombshell (and a tiny Bon Bons!)
Soooooo happy to have these.

A while ago, my polish muse Emerald Sparkled posted this. And I feel in love. I started a mad search for Flormar U33, but gave up after a while thinking it was never going to be mine.
And along came Ruth, another Facebook friend. I had asked her once before if she could find it, but she couldn't. And then one day, she messaged me telling me it had finally shown up in her area!
So she sent it to me. And I love it. A whole lot.
The other polish you see here is OPI Crown Me Already! from the Miss Universe collection which I picked up at Winners the night before I left.

Holy crap. Did you read all that? I hope some of you did, and I hope you enjoyed it!
I enjoyed writing it BUT it took a long time!!

Now I've got two bags FILLED with new polishes. Time to reorganize my polish drawers! And time to get swactching!
Let me know which things you'd like to see swatched first and I'll try my best to do it!

I had a wonderful vacation, but I've missed you all, and I'm happy to be back! :D

This was epic! I have the "light green" flakie Forever 21 polish too, it's very nice! Oh, and love the bow bracelet from Forever 21! I think I've seen that before ;) Can't wait to see your swatches of Fowl Play, I have my post scheduled for the morning. Specially love the phone case and that bag is awesome and totally worth the $. Great haul!

I'm glad you had such a good vacation! (I'm jealous!) oh and omg on Blink, I haven't seen them in forever, but I have pictures you would die looking at ;) Only person between me and them was a bouncer :P Can't wait to see all the new polishes on!

Holy crap what an awesome haul!! I really need to walk into my local H&M. I also got that green flakie from Forever 21 and I made a funny little noise when I saw it. I was hoping post a look using it this week, but I haven't yet. I have to figure out what I want to layer it over, I'm thinking neon green! And I LOVE LOVE LOVE spin pins too!! Anyways, totally awesome haul post!

OMG what an awesome post! =))I read all of it and I enjoyed it very very much! I fell almost like I got all of those beauties! ;D You lucky girl! And I can't wait for swatches of Crush glow in the dark polish, Nails Ink, all Orly and Funky Fingers polishes and Grape Crush... :)Thanks!

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